Gas up the go-fast boats, grab your pink blazers, and let’s go for some mojitos: A new Miami Vice feature film is coming in 2027. And baby, I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life.
On April 22, outlets like Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that a new film based on the ‘80s TV hit Miami Vice is set for release by Universal Studios on August 6, 2027. The project will star Oscar-winner Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler, and will bear the title Miami Vice ‘85. Jordan will play Tubbs, originally played by Philip Michael Thomas, while Butler will co-star as Sonny, Don Johnson’s role. Top Gun: Maverick’s Joseph Kosinski is on board to direct.
Plot details are unknown. However, the title heavily implies the movie will be a period piece set in the era of the original show, which was created by Michael Mann and ran for five seasons on NBC. That’s unlike the now-revered 2006 film (also directed by Mann) with Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell, which was set in contemporary Miami. Truly who could forget its memorable opening with a Jay-Z/Linkin Park needledrop?
If Hollywood can only be remakes and reboots form here owward, we could do worse than Miami Vice. Both the series and the 2006 movie are god-tier, as pieces of mainstream art marinated in morose masculinity and immaculate noir atmospherics.
The 2006 film in particular has undergone positive reevaluation in recent years; originally dismissed by critics when it opened in July 2006, the movie is now adored as a modern crime classic. As it should. It is a banger of a film: the dirty digital video cinematography, the manic camerawork that immerses viewers into the action, Colin Farrell and Gong Li exchanging glances before a sexy, ill-fated getaway to Cuba for mojitos on speedboats (set against purplish-grey storm clouds, because Michael Mann is anything but subtle). There’s nothing else quite like it, which is a rare thing to say about a movie based on a TV show.
Between Jordan and Butler’s combined machismo and Kosinski’s deft hand at showcasing men in some kind of crisis, Miami Vice ‘85 could be another heavyweight. It just sounds perfect, and we’ve not even seen a single second of it. But maybe it doesn’t have to do all that much, either. Just put the boys in a Ferrari, let the top down, and play some Phil Collins. We’ll be there opening weekend.